


Of meetings and men

by lovette11



Category: Marvel
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-15
Updated: 2017-01-15
Packaged: 2018-09-17 15:59:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,937
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9332522
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lovette11/pseuds/lovette11
Summary: inspired by talking (to you) by potrix-the-queerschlaeger (will link when i'm back off mobile)tony and bucky meet in therapy and first impressions don't go great





	

"So I'm being forced to come here, no offence," he nodded to Sam "but I probably wouldn't be here if it didn't benefit me. And I know that's the whole point of sharing, you know a problem shared is a problem halved and yada yada. But I mean actually benefit me, as in I gain something from this. In this scenario it means I get cleared with a fit bill of health which means I can go back to working in my shop for 38 hours and drinking a bottle of scotch that I've hidden from Pepper, she's my CEO by the way, and pretending that I'm coping. Which everyone wants me to do. Because as least if I'm pretending, they don't have to acknowledge the issue. So, that's why I'm here, and that's why I won't be here next week. Because ladies and gentlemen," Tony got up from the chair and clapped his hands with a forced smile. "My quota has been filled, thank you and good day!" He bowed with a flourish and walked through the hall to the door.

"Actually Tony, it's not." Sam spoke up as Tony stepped through the door, when Tony turned around the previous man shrugged unapologetically. "You don't just have to attend, I have to write a report about your attendance and participation, and not gonna lie man... Your report is not going to come close to clearing you."

Tony sighed and rolled his head in the doorway before sighing. "Fuck." He muttered.

And that was how Tony Stark - Billionaire, Playboy, Philanthropist found himself in a PTSD group every Thursday.

~

"Tony?" Sam gently spoke and Tony shook looking up from where he'd been sketching blueprints on his tablet. Tony knew he would never get a clear discharge once he began to speak. He wouldn't be able to work if they truly knew how he was coping with the aftermass of Afghanistan, New York and Ultron.

He had been attending for over 3 years, he decided that if he couldn't get points for participation, he'd at least get them for attendance. He looked around and there was no longer faces he recognised, people would come and go but Tony had been there the longest now. 

"Huh? Oh? Yes. I'd like to say good job everyone, I feel like we really worked through some things together there. Truly remarkable work." He clapped and bowed his palms around the circle, ignoring Sam rolling his eyes and writing something in his notebook like he did every time Tony managed to skirt the topic. 

"Is everything a joke to you?" A voice beckoned, he was new. He was hot. The man had stubble and long hair tucked behind his ear, which had two single silver hoops in. Tony surveyed him and noticed the metal hand resting underneath his folded arms.

"That's not the first time I've heard that comment, draw your conclusions from that." Tony shrugged and opened a new tab on his sketchpad app.

"My conclusion is that your an asshole!" He flung his arm out pointing to Tony's tablet. 

"James," Sam said warningly. 

"No! Sam. He fucking comes here every week and makes a mockery of all of us, he never contributes, he never even fucking listens to any of us talking. Why is he here? Why does he deserve to be here? Here are good people- Good. People. That had a real shitty deal in life and they are trying their best to cope, actually trying to make their lives better. And he gets to sit here, taking up a chair, and fucking... What's he even doing? Designing more weapons? Making more robots to kill us all?" James spat, Tony looked up from his tablet feigning disinterest.

"Oh? Is that what I was doing? Shit... So... Sarah your daughter isn't currently on the fast path to M.I.T? And Shayn, did I not ever send that car with wheelchair access to you? Oh and James, sorry I think my robot designs came second in line to my fucking line of prosthetics." Tony held up his tablet with the blueprints he had begun. James gaped and grabbed it from him, going through the tabs of designs from pillows that detect night terrors, to PTSD friendly fireworks. "You think I don't know I don't belong here? Among hereos? Among good people?" Tony laughed. "That's why I'm still fucking here! That's why I can't fucking leave!"

Sam rubbed at his eyes and leaned back in his chair, giving up on settling either party. James carried on swiping through the designs in awe, mustering up the courage to make an apology. 

"I sit here every day hearing about how these people put themselves in the line of danger that I helped to create, I have to sit here listening to how I destroyed their chance at a healthy life? You think I don't know my weapons are still circulating? I would put every goddamn dime into destroying all of them ten times over if I could. But I can't! So I have to live with it. I have to live with this fucking guilt, every week surrounded in a room of people I hurt - no matter how indirectly. I know I can't make up for it, I know a fucking car and a college tuition doesn't make up for it. I know, James! Thank you for pointing out the fucking obvious!"

"Tony..." James murmured, his eyes pitying.

"Wow, nope. Fuck you." Tony stood up with a butter laugh. "Sam, get your notebook out - I'm here because I got kidnapped. That's what happens to rich people, no biggie, happened 18 times before I turned 13 - usually for ransom. Cons of having a rich father. Irrelevant. I got abducted 4 years ago, you've probably read about it, lord knows there's no secrets in show business. Is that the saying? I forget."

Tony grips the back of the chair, hoping it distracts from the fact his hands are shaking. "Anyway, abducted, surgery in a cave, car battery in my chest. Car battery poisons me, I almost die, that was a thing. Then I take a nuke, fly it into space, great ole Captain America - childhood hero decides to close the portal. Almost die again. I get manipulated by a witch, see everyone I have come to love die because of me, try to fix it, make it worse, because isn't that the Tony Stark way?"

He heaves a breath and ignores his voice cracking, "and that because I killed almost an entire country I now have to be monitored for mental stability. And you don't have to have my IQ level to know I'm fucked up. So yes, I don't belong here, yes I don't participate. Yes I fucking can't stand to look at the people in this room because I know I don't deserve it. Thank you!" Tony turns on his heel and marches out with as much dignity as he can muster while also crying in public. He turns into the nearest bathroom and grips the sink, trying to control his breathing.

"I know this possibly looks like I came to gloat but I wanted to see if you're doing okay, genuinely." James stepped cautiously into the bathroom, remaining by the door.

Tony scoffed, "Peachy." 

"I feel a little responsible." James gestured at Tony's shaking body.

"You should." Tony grumbled, turning the tap on to wash his hands and splash his face.

"Well, I do."

"Well, good."

James smiled softly, taking a small step towards Tony.

"I want to apologise, what I said - no matter how true I believed it to be at the time. It was out of order. I'm still... Recovering from some shit myself and, err, you got under my skin." Tony nodded in understanding, James laughed. "Not the first time I'm aware."

"I have that affect on people." Tony grinned, his chest had stopped hurting as much as it was 5 minutes ago.

"I just," James paused and winced trying to find the words. "I saw you're blueprints, all of them. And I think you're amazing- They're amazing. There's great stuff there that could really help people. I didn't mean to call you heartless." Tony furrowed his eyebrows.

"You didn't."

"I may have not said that one out loud." James shrugged sheepishly, Tony rolled his eyes.

"Yeah well, it doesn't change anything. Everything you said was right." Tony sighed and pinched his nose. "It's fine, you're forgiven, go tell Sam we kissed and made up." He waved James off with a flick of his hand and rested his forehead on the cool tile wall, fluttering his eyes closed.

"Well we haven't kissed and I don't like to lie." James grinned sitting on the edge of the sink and folding his arms. Tony flickered one eye open in his direction.

"Really? That's what you're stuck on? Geez, right okay, go tell Sam that we're fine. You pulled a knight-in-shining-armour stunt and it was all very grand. You don't have to be here anymore." 

James frowned and scrunched his nose, "Sam didn't send me here?" Tony groaned and mimed slamming his head against the wall. "I came here because I needed to apologise. I didn't make a great first impression. I need you to know as well, that I don't blame you. I know with the whole 'weapons and robots' comment it might've come across that way-"

"You think?" Tony scoffed, James hit him lightly in the shoulder and Tony rolled over placing his shoulder on the tiles instead.

"I'm trying to apologise you punk."

"I accepted your apology and told you to leave, about 13 minutes ago." 

James winked, "I'm not going anywhere until I can tell Sam we kissed and made up." He stepped closer, leaning on the wall centimetres away from Tony.

"Sam didn't even send you here!" Tony yelled with a laugh. "You're a crazy bastard, you know that?"

"I have wanted you since our first meeting. Then I thought you were a dick and I was very sexually frustrated because you were still hot." James traced Tony's adam's apple bobbing as he gulped, "And now I know you're actually great and it's even hotter."

"That must be a very hard predicament to be in." Tony whispered as James edged closer, he breathed a laugh that blew on Tony's cheek.

"You have no idea how _hard_ it's been." James chuckled at Tony's groan, he chased Tony's lips as Tony pulled his head back.

"Nope. No can do. Cannot possibly make out with someone with pick up lines that awful." Tony attempted to sound stern and failed by the way it came out as a breathless whisper. James just nudged his nose along Tony's cheek as he spoke and ignored him. 

"Aw come on, you left it open for me!" Tony laughed again and hit James on the arm. "I stand by what I said." He said in mock seriousness against Tony's lips. Searching his eyes for permission.

Tony surged forward and grabbed the lapels of James' collar fiercely, smiling into the kiss with a huff.

"This is going to be a very weird story to tell Steve." Tony murmured after a solid 10 minute make out session. James ran his nose along Tony's neck, leaving light kissing along his jaw.

"What's weird about telling at someone in a therapy group and fucking them in a bathroom stall?" James commented with a bite to Tony's shoulder.

"We haven't fucked in a bat- Oh." Tony gaped as Bucky growled and picked him up, kicking the door open to the nearest cubicle.

**Author's Note:**

> don't ask me what canon i'm following, im just gna pretend sam found bucky in aou and made him attend the meetings before the avengers met him


End file.
